The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1887-06-23
HOW OTHERS SEE US.
A New ZeaIander's Notes on n Six
Months Holiday Tour.


Months Holiday Tour.
The Hawaiian Islands in soil and eli
mate seem pre-eminently adapted for the
cultivation of the sugar cane, and sugar
growing is now the principal industry of
the kingdom, the export having risen
within a comparatively few years from TO-
900 tons to 10000. As sugar is at the
present worth, say, $50 a ton at Frisco,
the yield represents an annual income of
some IS 600, 900, or, say, FL 100000 sterling
| not a bad contribution in itself for a
mere handful of people. All the sugar is
shipped and sold to the sugar refneries of
San Francisco. In South America,
| Queensland. West Indies and other sugar
| growing countries two to three tons per
| acre is reckoned fairly good crop, but on
| these islands five tons are readily obtained,
| and six, and even seven tons, are Occa-
siOnally harvested, speaking volumes for
the fertility of the soil and the remunera-
tive character of the industry The best
cane land is of peculiar red color, for the
most part decOmposed rock, mud and
ashes from volcanoes, which, when dry, is
nothing but fine red dust, unfit appar
emily for cultivation. With irrigation,
however, it will grow almost anything, and j
its fertility is practically inexhaustiblexl
Except on the high upland and WIND
ward" plantations, where frequent showers
can be more or less depended upon, every
sugar plantation has a complete system of
irrigation.
KILAUEA PLANTATION.
The largest plantation and mill on Kauai
belongs to the Kilauea Sugar Company, |
and consists of plantation of 1000 acres, |
5000 of which are cane land, and mill |
capable of turning out 10 tons per day, the
output last year being estimated at 1,500 /
tons. This company employ 200 men, 400 |
oxen, so horses, 60 mules, and own four |
miles of railway, with two locomotives, |
and miles of fumes and water-races.
PRECKELsvILLE PLANTATION. /
The largest plantation, however, on the |
island and probably the largest in the |
world, is the Spreckelsville plantation on t
the island of Maui, which keeps four mills !
constantly going, and has water-races cost
ing 100000 to construct. Il cane is
planted in rows about six feet apart, and |
grows to the height of eight feet or ten
feet, each root sending up a number of
which, at short distance might be mis-
taken for New Zealand flax. Given suita
BILE and easily irrigated land sugar growing
hereabOuts is a most lucrative occupation,
but considerable capital is required to start
it on a decent scale, the first two or three |
years being entirely consumed growing suf-
ficient cane to stock or plant out your
plantation.
THE ISLAND OF HAWAII.
Hawaii is the island on which Captain
Cook was killed, and is by far the largest
of the group, larger indeed than all the
other seven islands put together.
The lame is pronounced "Ha-y-ee,"
printed in old ALIASES as Owyhee, and gives
the name Hawaiian Islands to the group.
AS in Hobart it is gross ignorance to speak
of Hobartown, so here it Is an unpardOn-
able offenSe to sink the glory of the Ha-
waiian Kingdom in the vulgar Sandwich
Islands-the full proper name by the way
is Hawaii nei pae alma" or "These Ha-
waiian Islands" Hawaii is a sort of safety
valve for the universe, two-thirds of it's
entire area (421O square miles, is blackened
and desolated with the tremendous lava
outfows which from time to time have oc-
largest active volcano in the world, and on
it the giant mountains of Mauna Loa and
Mauna Kea rear their crater capped snow
clad SUBMITS 1900 feet to the clouds.
Five years ago Mauna Loa 03,600 feeD
burst forth, and for six weeks threw up
continuous, magnificent, awful fountain of
burning lava 500 feet high, which irradi-
ated and illumined the whole island, and
ran a terribly grand river of fire twenty
miles to the sea.
THE LIQUID SEA OF BLooD-RED LAVA
Seething and boiling in the caldera OF XII
lauea is, of course, the great center of at
traction for the visitors to these islands,
and a steady stream of European and
American tourists do the round trip from
Honolulu every week.
THE CRATER OF KILAUEA.
A first-class hotel, the Volcano House, is
built on the edge of the crater, and from
the veranda one can look down 500 feet
into a veritable bottomless pit, where
'tPele' the goddess of fire, holds undis-
puted SWAY The crater of Kilauea is about
nine miles in circumference. but the Ham
ing waves surge and the fire fountains
play within a much less area, the greater
portion of the crater being f1oored with
Jagged black lava, over which guides lead
the boldest of the tourists to walk with
gingerly steps among the yawning CULTS
and sulphurous assures to the very edge
of the pit itself.
HALEAKALA.
The largest crater on the island, and in
deed the largest one in the world, is the
extinct one, Haleakala, or the "hOuse of
the sun" on the adjoining island of Maui.
Its altitude is 10000 feet, and It's stipend
Gus walls are thirty miles in circumfer-
ence!
HEIAU ON HAWAII.
On the island of Hawaii still stands the |
ruins of an ancient heather temple, heiau,
the largest in the group, 325 feet long by |
125 feet wide, its stupendous walls were |
twenty feet thick at the base and tapering |
to six feet at the top All the stone used |